


What's Needed/What To Leave Out

by therealtortilla



Category: Backstreet Boys
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-03
Updated: 2014-05-03
Packaged: 2018-01-21 19:22:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1561274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therealtortilla/pseuds/therealtortilla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kevin paints AJ's nails.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What's Needed/What To Leave Out

Kevin was on AJ's bus tonight, because AJ wanted company. Neither of their families were out with them on this particular European tour, so it was easy for the two of them to be together alone. Spend some quality time with one another.

AJ had enlisted Kevin to paint his nails, since they were chipping, and since there wasn't all that much else to do. After Kevin carefully, meticulously removed all the old nail polish with a cotton ball, he began to apply the new paint. Black and red, half and half on each nail at AJ's request.

They spoke quietly, casually, Kevin's drawl a low murmur above the hum of the moving bus, AJ's a smoky rasp. Kevin applied the red first, holding AJ still with one hand, moving the small brush over his nails with his left hand. Steady.

“Fuck,” he muttered, as the bus jerked over a bump in the road, causing him to mess up AJ's pinky nail.

“Careful,” AJ clucked his tongue. Kevin used his thumb to swipe off the still-wet polish so he could repaint it.

“If you could just decide on one color, this would be so much easier,” Kevin said. “Instead of havin' to do stripes.”

“I'm sorry you're not a nail technician,” AJ told him matter-of-factly.

“You start askin' me to paint little stars and skulls, you're gonna have to pay up,” Kevin decided.

“Pay up how?”

“Blowjob would be good,” Kevin said without looking up from AJ's hand. AJ smiled.

“They'd better be pretty good stars and skulls,” AJ told him.

“I can do a Van Gogh if I get to fuck you.”

AJ snorted.

“I'd like to see that.”

“The Van Gogh? Or you'd like to see me fuck you?”

“You'd be lucky if you could do a Rothko on my nails.” Not the response Kevin had craved.

“Don't be hating on minimalism,” Kevin reprimanded. “It takes a lot of skill.” He gently blew on AJ's nails, then reached for the other hand, to continue the red.

AJ watched Kevin's face as he concentrated, and consequently felt his pants tightening.

“One has to be pretty intelligent to be able to decide,” Kevin went on, “what to leave out. Not to give away too much information.”

“No frills. No bells and whistles,” AJ contended. “Only what's needed.”

Kevin finished up with the red and paused to let the polish dry completely. In the meantime, he still held AJ's hand in his, and re-memorized the lines adorning it, the ink, the jewelry.

“How're Kris and the boys?” AJ asked, when they hadn't spoken for a while.

“I know you don't care,” Kevin replied quietly.

“I care.”

Kevin's eyes flickered up, a hint of green visible for just a moment, before he looked back down.

“They're good.”

AJ nodded. “Good.”

Kevin held AJ's hand up to his lips and blew again.

“Almost dry,” AJ said, his voice taking a little more effort to work. He studied Kevin's mouth.

“Let's put on the black,” Kevin said, lowering AJ's hand back to the table at which they sat, and unscrewing the lid off the other bottle of polish.

He'd finished the second layer of each color before the two of them said anything more.

“I kind of like doing this,” Kevin said, barely above a whisper.

“Maybe cosmetology was your real calling,” AJ joked. But Kevin gave him a serious look.

“I meant doing this with you. Being with you. I feel like we're never together anymore.”

AJ huffed a laugh. “Kevin! We see each other every day, honey.”

Kevin stiffened. “You know what I mean.”

AJ sighed and looked down.

“Can we talk about something else?”

“How 'bout them Wildcats,” Kevin muttered, defeated, reaching for the clear coat. He'd been trying to talk to AJ about this for years, about his real feelings for him. He knew AJ didn't give a rat's ass about sports, and didn't expect a response. He unscrewed the cap, took AJ's left hand in his. While he laid the last coat, AJ examined the work on his other hand.

“It's looking good,” AJ noted.

They were both quiet until Kevin finished, as though holding their breaths. Kevin blew, again, on AJ's nails, and AJ shut his eyes and began humming a song. The tune turned into “If I Knew Then,” and AJ stopped.

“I swear, I don't even know how to sing anything that's not a Backstreet song anymore.”

Kevin shook his head. He gently ran his thumb over the top of AJ's hand, tracing one of the tattoos absently. Then he pulled back, and put all the caps back on the nail polish bottles.

“Done,” he announced.

AJ held up his hands and admired them.

“Cool,” he said. “I'm gonna have to recruit you to do this more often. It'll save me lots of money.”

“I'm not free labor,” Kevin pouted.

“Of course not. I said it'd save me money, but I didn't say I wouldn't find other ways to pay you.” AJ winked at him, and Kevin looked down, blushing. AJ stretched across the table. “Come here, baby.”

Kevin glanced back up, with hope, made shy by the look in the younger man's eyes. But he leaned forward and allowed AJ to kiss him, softly.

“I still love you,” Kevin said the second AJ pulled back, the words dropping out of his mouth. “I'd still do anything for you. Anything you wanted.”

“I know you would,” AJ said, “and that's what I love about you.”

Kevin tried to read him, tried to read if there was something more meant by that, but AJ startled him with a tortured-sounding moan.

“What's wrong?” Kevin asked, voice an octave higher than usual.

“Just – God, I really need to masturbate, right now,” AJ told him, slumping into his chair. He knew he had Kevin, with that kiss, so there was no sense now in dilly-dallying. “Been horny for hours. But my nails are wet. I don't know how much longer I can wait.” He gave Kevin a pointed look. No questions here, just straightforward. Minimalist.

“I – I can do it for you,” Kevin volunteered.

“I know you can,” AJ said, and quickly got up, moving to sit in the couch on the other side of the aisle. He spread his legs wide. Kevin followed, heart pounding.

He dropped to his knees.


End file.
